MEMRI: Libyan Reformist Author in Essays Critical of Hizbullah, Special Dispatch-North African Reformist Thinkers Project/Libya No. 1227, August 3, 2006

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Dr. Muhammad Al-Huni, a Libyan intellectual and author who resides in Italy (and who is close to Sayf Al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Mu’ammar Al-Qaddafi), recently wrote a series of articles, dated July 16, July 22, and July 26, 2006, for the liberal website Elaph.com. In them, he criticized Hizbullah and Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and accused them of serving Iran and Syria’s interests.

The following are excerpts from his articles:

July 16: Nasrallah’s Flag, Anthem, Goals, and Interests are “Not Lebanon’s”; His Alliances “are Only With the Enemies of Lebanon”

“After the liberation of southern Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah could have gone down in history as one of the Arab leaders who fought against the occupation of their homeland. This could have been the case if he had settled for driving out the occupation… But Hizbullah is fighting in southern Lebanon in the name of the Lebanese, and with their blood, in order to expropriate [from them] the symbolic capital of the heroic struggle for the liberation [of their country] and in order to put them in the service of Iran’s and Syria’s regime of oppression. These events, which came after [Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon], exposed this fact, and Hizbullah’s latest action is the greatest proof of this…

“Nasrallah became intoxicated from the victory he achieved in those fine days, and thought that he was not just the commander of a militia, but rather the leader of an important nation…

“Nasrallah and his militia have a flag that is not Lebanon’s flag, a national anthem that is not Lebanon’s anthem, goals and interests that are not the goals and interests of Lebanon, [and] stores of weapons that are not put into use for the sake of Lebanon, and their alliances are only with the enemies of Lebanon…

“Nasrallah has always defended the Syrian presence in Lebanon, despite the fact that he, and all the Arabs, know that this presence was in order to uphold [Syrian] hegemony over the Lebanese people. He defended the [Syrian] regime’s mafia gangs, who plundered the resources of the miserable [Lebanese] people, after having plundered the resources of the helpless Syrian people. Nasrallah and his militia are prepared to wreck any chance or any spark of hope for the occupied [Palestinian] land, after they found, by way of Iranian funds, other militias, like Hamas, who wave the flag of Hizbullah… and who do not recognize the Palestinian flag…

“Nasrallah and his militia threaten the media and freedom of thought in Lebanon. He pulled out of his robe thousands of people to demonstrate and cause damage, just because a satellite station treated him with a certain degree of ridicule, as it had done with other leaders in Lebanon. This is because Nasrallah is above all criticism, as he enjoys the stature of the holy men and prophets… He does not recognize the Lebanese government, and thus competes with it over the most important element in a modern country – the monopoly on power, and its employment in accordance with the law and in accordance with the country’s foreign treaties…

“Thanks to Nasrallah and his militia, Lebanon today is a country that does not enjoy full sovereignty, since part of its land, and its most dangerous border, are under Nasrallah’s rule. One could say that Nasrallah liberated southern Lebanon in order to conquer all of Lebanon…

“So what now, Mr. Nasrallah? You kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in order to free some prisoners [held by Israel]. Have you asked yourself what the price of this adventure will be? Did you ask the Lebanese their opinion, as they see tourism completely collapse and leave behind it crowds of unemployed and a horrifying number of bankrupt businesses? Did you ask the government in which you are a member, and which you belittle, how it can show its face in international circles after your attack?… Did you ask the Lebanese taxpayers if they agree to see the money that they paid over the years evaporate within minutes in an attack on Lebanese infrastructure? Finally, did you ask the prisoners if they want to get out of prison at such a high price in blood?…”(1)

July 22: Hizbullah is “A Militia That is Separate From Lebanese Society… Financed by Iran”

“Hassan Nasrallah promises the [Muslim] nation victory, and he promises surprises in the field that will bring about this victory… Among those of my generation, few believe these promises, since our generation has had experience with similar legends, like Nasser’s Al-Tafir and Al-Qahir missiles and Saddam’s cardboard missiles. All of these Arab leaders achieved victory only over their own people, and brought nothing but more defeat and downfall to these [Arab] masses – who are psychologically, economically, and morally ruined by the never-ending mill of oppression, dictatorship, and corruption…

“First of all, we need to admit that Israel withdrew, in 2000, from all of the Lebanese lands recognized by the international community. The issue of the Shab’a farms is nothing but the trap that the Syrian regime set for Lebanon in order to embroil it in a conflict in the Middle East and in order to give Hizbullah the task of fighting, in its [i.e. Lebanon’s] name, for its own interests and for the interests of Iran, which wants to be a global and regional power…

“Hizbullah does not have anything to lose. This is a militia that is separate from Lebanese society, with a separate economy that is financed by Iran. For this reason, the Lebanese people’s suffering does not interest Hizbullah and has no effect on it. Likewise, Hizbullah is not a country, with representatives in international circles, and thus it is has no obligation to international norms and conventions.

“Since it is the mullahs of Iran who finance Hizbullah, we need to treat this militia as a mere instrument, and we need to examine Iran, which is using it. Iran refused to give an answer to the European proposal [concerning its nuclear program] before August 22. It announced this from the start, and this proves that the planning for Hizbullah’s action was Iranian planning with thought behind it, since Iran wanted to create a difficult situation in the Middle East so that… it could conduct negotiations from a stronger position…

“It is likely that Iran… whose president, Ahmadinejad, says that the destruction of Israel and wiping it off the map are its supreme goal – has supplied Hizbullah with non-conventional weapons and with missiles [capable of] carrying these weapons to the major cities in Israel. If this scenario is correct… then it will be a tragedy for the entire region, and the dead will be counted in the millions, not in the thousands…”(2)

July 26: The Dreams of Ahmadinejad, Hamas, and Nasrallah “Bring Nothing but Massacres and Unbalanced Wars”

“In southern Libya… there was a dervish by the name of ‘Abdallah bin Mas’ud, who had disciples and students. One morning Sheikh bin Mas’ud gathered together his disciples and said to them: ‘I dreamt that the infidels’ weapons have “gone cold” – meaning they are no longer deadly – and thus I have decided that we will attack the French Army’s fortress with cold arms.’ Many of the dervishes who were his students went after him, armed with knives, scythes, and swords, and attacked the French fortress in Sabha, the capital of the south. The French destroyed them all, to the last man…

“The latest dream [of this kind] was that of the president of Iran, Ahmadinejad, who said in a speech that was broadcast on Iranian television in Mashad that Iran’s joining the group of nations with nuclear technology derives from the Iranian nation’s struggle, which is making a step forward towards the coming of the awaited mahdi (Al-Watan magazine, May 5, 2006). So Iran needs to manufacture a nuclear bomb before that time, in order to help the mahdi eliminate the infidels and the polytheists…

“[Ahmadinejad] found people who believe him in the Hamas movement, and especially Khaled Mash’al… The awaited mahdi is coming, so why then defile the struggle with negotiations with Israel or with recognition of it? It may be that Mr. Mash’al hasn’t noticed that he [himself] will be among those doomed to perdition, since he isn’t a Shi’ite.

“It appears that Hassan Nasrallah [also] believed this prophecy, since he says that there is nothing called Israel on the world map, that he does not recognize the international community, and that he attributes no importance to the U.N. The awaited mahdi is about to come. He will wipe out Israel and the Sunnis, the Christians, and the Druze of Lebanon, and he [i.e. Nasrallah] will be the Imam’s viceroy in all of Greater Syria…

“These dreams and prophecies are madness, that bring nothing but massacres and unbalanced wars with foreign [forces]… If it were only these leaders who became possessed with this madness, then things would not be as bad as they are. But the majority of the public have been swept after them.

“The large public that supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and believed that he would redistribute the Arab wealth to all of the Arabs was surprised at the reality on the day that Saddam was defeated, although they did not admit it. This is a public that believed, relying on the analysis of the Al-Jazeera channel’s experts, that Saddam Hussein would deliver a humiliating defeat to the United States. When Baghdad fell, this public came up against the bitter reality, but to this day it has not owned up to the truth. It pins all its hopes on the defeat of Israel, and seriously believes that Mr. Nasrallah will defeat it…

“In a short time, the public will understand that they have seen another mirage – but then it will look for another leader to give them what they are missing… [another] fantasy…”(3)

Endnotes:

(1) Elaph, July 16, 2006.

(2) Elaph, July 22, 2006.

(3) Elaph, July 26, 2006.

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MEMRI: Libyan Reformist Author in Essays Critical of Hizbullah, Special Dispatch-North African Reformist Thinkers Project/Libya No. 1227, August 3, 2006

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